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Hatek
'Sub-races' The Hateks are a race of humanoid beasts. There are three different subtypes of Hateks. These subgroups are the mighty Dreshuk, the mysterious and shamanistic Sarom, and the ferocious beast warrior Brodrim. While there are many differences between the three, their aging is similar. Most Hatek live until between 200-250 years old, often coming to maturity around thirty years old. *'Brodrim' Brodrim are humanoids with the upper body of humans and the lower body and heads of rams. Their bodies are covered in a short hair that ranges in color from black to a dark crimson red. These creatures can be anywhere from 5 feet to 8 feet tall. Some Brodrim’s horns are curved like that of a ram’s and some are straight like that of a gazelle or deer. Some very lucky Brodrim may even be born with the gift of antlers. (curved horns are regarded as more “royal”). Brodrim do many tasks for the Hateks ranging from fighting and raiding to fishing, farming, mining, and lumberjacking. Many Brodrim also specialize in the art of crafting, some even becoming masters at carving wood or forging metals. *'Dreshuk' The Dreshuk are large bulls that stand on two legs. They can range from anywhere between 8 and 11 feet tall. They are incredibly strong, yet incompetent when it comes to matters of strategy and tactics. The color of their fur is usually a dark brown or black, with white fur being regarded as lucky and more “powerful”. Dreshuk are able to do large amounts of manual labor with little or no breaks. They are fearless and courageous in battle, and have been known to enter states of “rage” where nothing can stop them. The most fierce and ferocious of the Hatek, they form the bulk of their warriors. The Dreshuk pray to Lyequat, the Hatek god, before battles, often performing rituals to keep themselves attuned to his energy. *'Sarom' The Sarom look the same as Brodrim, but are quite different. Most Sarom’s fur color is either a grey or white color. Sarom are blessed by Lyequat with the powers of the Old Kin and use this power to lead the tribes in spiritual matters. The power of the Old Kin is the use of shamanistic rituals that create magic. These rituals are very spiritual in nature and are often used to bless warriors before battle, as well as to please Lyequat. When not helping the Hatek to victory in war, Sarom spend their days sampling the best pipe weeds the herd as to offer and making shamanistic predictions and prophecies. Some Sarom have recently become knowledgeable in the art of reading and writing and have begun to write the history of the Hatek in great tomes. 'Culture' The Hatek culture is a unique one. To many of the other races, the Hatek seem to be a savage race of warmongering monsters, but in reality the Hatek have a varied system of rituals and rules that dictate their way of life. The Hatek have become efficient in the art of battle and spirituality, as well as the perfection of their infrastructure. While not as advanced as the Vor’Mar in terms of efficiency and war machine, their system of resource collecting and warfare works for them. Hatek culture is very much a tribal one. The collective race of Hatek or “herd” as it is called by the Hatek, consists the Sarom, Dreshuk, and Brodrim clans, united together under the council of tribal chieftan. These chieftan are in charge of the government and well being of the herd in times of peace. In times of war, a War Chief is elected from amongst the council. This War Chief is granted almost dictator like powers, given control of the entire military and resource cache in order to fight against invaders. 'Traditions and Customs' The Commandments of the Old Kin are a set of rules created by the god Lyequat. The Hatek believe that when the world was young, Lyequat inscribed the three Commandments onto the tablet. This tablet is revered as the holiest piece of the Hatek religion, and is kept by the Head Shaman of the Sarom in Rumah. The three Commandments written on the tablet are as follows: *You are to serve Lyequat with every fiber of your being. You shall worship him as the one and only true god. *You are to serve the Herd with the same passion that you serve Lyequat. *You must protect and nurture the Herd in the face of destruction and famine. Honor is a trait that is highly revered within the Hatek culture. The more honor you have, the higher your standing within both your tribe and the herd become. Honor is not a thing that can be measured in units, rather it is like your reputation. You can gain honor by performing well in battles, beating other Hatek in duels, and doing other things that generally help the herd. Cowardice, dis-loyalty, treachery and deception are all things that can make you look dis-honorous, and will lower your standings within the herd. Loyalty is another trait that the Hatek revere as positive. If you are not loyal to the Herd, then you are nothing. All those Hatek that are disloyal to the Herd will be hunted down and killed for their insolence. Bravery is the final trait mentioned in the Commandments of the Old Kin. Bravery is most prevalent in war and conflict. The ultimate act of bravery would involve sacrificing oneself in a battle for the well being of the herd, but this is not the only way to show bravery. Killing a multitude of enemies, beating a superior enemy force, and putting your own life at a great risk to save other Hatek are all ways to show bravery. The Hatek would find it very hard to see bravery in any place besides the battlefield, but it would theoretically be possible to show bravery in a different way. 'Clothing' Hatek clothing is very simple in design. Male Hatek traditionally only wear loincloths. Females wear the loincloth and usually some kind of chest covering piece of clothing. Painted on these loincloths are various symbols honoring tribes, the god, important events, and important people. Hatek also adorn their loincloths with various trophies. Anything from skulls to feathers to small tomes can be seen hanging off of a Hatek’s loincloth. Hatek will also traditionally paint certain symbols on their fur to represent their tribe. Hatek clothing is slightly different for the higher ups. Shaman will traditionally wear ragged robes with a hood, decorated with pearls or other smooth stones and gems. Chieftan will often wear a form of armor at all times. this armor can range from chainmail scavenged from the field of battle to a chest plate made of bones from the fallen. Over this armor, scraps of clothing are worn. Rough leather and metal helmets are also worn by many of the Chieftan, but these helms do not distort the view of the horns of the Hatek. Finally, the Shamans of the Sarom also wear various headdresses made of leather, feathers, and scraps of precious metals and gems during ceremonies. 'Tribes' Tribes will not be brought into Hatek culture until the population is stable enough to support a division within the governemnt and culture. At most, tribes will have 7 players, with the minimum number of people required for a tribe being 4. The number of tribes will depend on how large the player base is, as we do not want to split them up too much. The main Hatek capital, Rumah, will be kept as a gathering area and static location for all tribes to gather at certain times. Otherwise, most of the tribes will stay nomadic in nature, roaming the lands and changing homes often. *'Tribal Games' Once every two moons the Tribal Games will be held. The tribal games consist of three distinct events. The first event is the battle of tribal champions. In this event, each tribe chooses a champion to fight in a free for all battle. The second event is the sacred rock event. In this event, a single rock is designated the sacred rock and placed in an unknown location somewhere in Hatek holdings. The tribes then race and fight against each other to see who can find and recover the rock first. The final and arguably most important event is the clan hunt. During this event, each tribe is given one week to find the most impressive prey. The tribe the brings back the most impressive trophy is pronounced the winner of said event. The Tribal Games take place during festivals and other celebrations and are meant as a way to bring the tribes together through competition and camaraderie. *'The Chieftan Council' The Chieftan Council is made up of the three Chieftans, one from each of the Dreshuk, Brodrim, and Sarom. The council also consists of tribal leaders, those being individual leaders of clans that have split off from Rumah. The three Chieftans have authority on military matters, and labor orders, with the tribal leaders acting as advisors. In the event that a War Chief is given power during times of war or crisis, supreme authority moves over to them and them alone until peace has fallen upon the herd again. 'Religion' The Hatek religion is the worship of Lyequat. Lyequat is the only true God to the Hatek. Worship to Lyequat can be done in multiple ways. All worship is done in a shamanistic ways. There are literally hundreds of different rituals that are each geared to a specific purpose. Many of these rituals involve the sacrifice of creatures ranging from sheep to pink skins to dragon eggs. The smoking of pipe weed and use of essence in their homes is said to open their souls to Lyequat, granting them his strength. Many shamans have visions or fortellings during the times they “connect” to Lyequat, leading them to believe he is trying to tell or warn them of things. The shaman also act as the historians of the clan, often writing the majority of their scrolls and books and keeping chronicles of the herd. 'History' Though no onequite knows how the Hatek came to be, there are many theories. Many of the Humans and Dwarfs believe that the Hatek were spawned from the darkest valleys in the badlands of the Hatek people. Others believe that the Hatek were created by the Gods as a joke. The Hatek are greatly offended by these lies. Instead, the Hatek have a complicated story that chronicles how they believe they came into existence. Their story is this: Many years ago, when the world was young, all beings were Hatek. Theses Hatek are now known as the Old Kin. For many moons, the Old Kin hunted together and gathered their bounty and shared it equally amongst all the tribes of the Herd. The lives of the Old Kin were good ones. That is, until the Heresy of the 3 Tribes. The 3 tribes, whose names have long since been lost, were once normal and honorable tribes of the Herd. But they soon began to grow different from the rest of the tribe. The first tribe began to set their weapons down and study nature and trees. Lyequat grew angry at this tribe, and as punishment turned them into the very thing they grew to love, trees. The second of the three tribes began to fall in love with the materialistic items of life. They were almost driven to madness by their love for jewels. Because of this, Lyequat cursed them. He cursed them by making them shorter, thus closed to their beloved jewels. He also took their fur and horns away from them, giving them the gravest insult known to the Hatek. The final of the three tribes made the gravest mistake of all. The final tribe was a tribe of mighty warriors. These warriors became vain and cocky. They figured themselves to be better than the rest of the Herd. This tribe began conquering lesser tribes. This decision angered Lyequat. Seeing their rash and idiotic behavior, Lyequat decided to remove their fur and horns. This tribe was banished from ever entering the lands of the Hatek again, and to this day many of the Hatek still have a strong hate for these “Pinkskins”. Architecture Hatek live in simple buildings. Huts are the main form of housing for the Hatek. The huts are made up of several wooden poles covered with stretched hides. Houses are adorned with designs and symbols painted using either blood or paint made of various berries and plants. It is not uncommon to find stakes with skulls of various creatures placed outside of the homes of many Hatek. Longhouses made out of a combination of stone, wood, and skins are used for larger more important buildings. The inside of these longhouses are filled either with council chambers, war rooms, armories, shaman lounges, barracks, and storage. The insides are filled with hanging skulls, small fires, incense, and trophies hanging from all different angles. All walls for defense purposes are wooden palisades. 'Warfare' War is a very special thing the Hatek. War is not just a series of battles to meet some end goal. Instead, war is a holy and religious undertaking. If the God is not pleased by the battles that take place, then the Hatek are sure to falter in their conquests. Hatek value war, but they rarely seek it. The Hatek will wage war in retaliation for insults, dishonor, and expansion. The Hatek will only expand into other nation’s territories when they run out of arable land themselves. The Hatek will also aid their allies in conflict whenever they are called upon. Weapons Hatek traditionally use crudely made axes, warhammer, and maces. Bows are the only weapon used for ranged fighting. Swords are used if they can be scavenged from enemy corpses. Small bucklers made of leather and wood are used in the off hand during fighting. These shields would have various tribal and traditional symbols painted on them. Dual wielding is a rare and special skill to the Hatek. those that possess the ability to do so are revered as great warriors and champions of the herd. Armor The Hatek wear very simple forms of armor. Leather, bone, and crude metal are all found in traditional Hatek armor. Armor is made to be light so the wearer can galavant around the field of battle with few restrictions. Helmets are rarely if ever used, and chest plates and leg coverings are the most the Hatek will ever wear into battle. Siege Hatek strategy on sieging is rather simple. The Hatek only use simple battering rams and/or siege ladder. After a break in the defense is found, the Hatek traditionally surge into the weak point and slaughter the defenders. Military The Hatek military may seem disorganized to many outsiders of the Herd, but within the Herd there is a complex and intricate hierarchy of Chieftains that must be followed. All Hatek males are expected to serve the War Herd whenever they are called to. When the Chieftain council decides that they wish to wage open war on an entity, they form what is called the Horde. The Horde is the combined strength of the entire Hatek military strength brought together. Rankings Within the War Herd *'War Chieftain' - Head of all military matters, his decision is final. *'Tribal Chieftain' - The Tribal Chieftan controls that tribes’ Warband. *'Marauder' - Leads a Raiding Party. Groups Within the War Herd *'Horde '- The complete strength of the Herd. All of the Warbands and Raiding Parties brought together. *'Tribal Warband' - Each Tribe has their own semi-independent military force. This force is made up of all Raiding Parties that operate within the Tribe. *'Raiding Party' - A Raiding Party is a group of Hatek that have decided to fight together. The size of Raiding Parties can vary anywhere from 3 to 15 Hatek. The main function of the Raiding Party is to gather supplies for the Herd. The barren wastes of the Hatek’s home make it difficult for any type of real agriculture to emerge. Because of this, the Hatek must raid and plunder many of the different resources they need. Forming a Raiding Party is not a decision that is to be taken lightly. A Raiding Party is a lifelong commitment, so many Hatek form the Parties with members of their own tribe to minimize the potential for conflict. Though this is not always the case, and some tribeless Hatek form Raiding Parties as well. *'The Hand of Lyequat' - These are the best of the best Hatek warriors. This is the only Warband not associated with a specific tribe. Thought to be blessed by Lyequat himself, these warriors are fierce opponents in the field of battle. Many Dreshuk join this Warband because of their immense and intimidating size.